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Partners will use unprecedented data scale to advance more precise medicines to approval

, /PRNewswire/ -- Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) today announced that the Billion Cell Atlas alliance has added three new member companies, including AI-native drug developer Formation Bio. As leaders in AI-driven drug discovery, design, and development, alliance members will use the unprecedented scale of Illumina's genome-wide perturbation data as infrastructure for the next generation of therapeutics.

Partners will use unprecedented data scale to advance more precise medicines to approval. "We are building the cell atlas to address key bottlenecks across the drug discovery and development continuum," said Rami Mehio, senior vice president and general manager of BioInsight at Illumina. "We are creating the foundational framework to train virtual cell models and solve some of the most fundamental challenges in biology. Together, partners using this unique dataset can have a significant impact in de-risking and accelerating the journey from biological insights to approved drugs."

Introduced in January 2026 with founding participants AstraZeneca, Merck, and Eli Lilly and Company, the Atlas enables users to discover and validate novel targets, characterize drug and disease mechanisms of action, and explore potential new indications. Over 350 million cells have been sequenced to date, generating upwards of six petabytes of genomic data. The scale and diversity of the Atlas across hundreds of disease-relevant and healthy cell types can reveal how diseases originate and develop, as well as how we may be able to reverse their progression.

"Formation Bio's model is to identify and acquire promising medicines already close to or in the clinic, then use AI and technology to develop them faster and more efficiently. A core part of that model is making better asset-selection and indication decisions, especially for first-in-class programs where the evidence is often fragmented," said Benjamine Liu, CEO and co-founder of Formation Bio. "We are excited to leverage the Illumina Billion Cell Atlas to credential therapeutic-area hypotheses and target-indication pairs against a new layer of cell-specific causal biology. Combined with genetics, human biology, translational evidence, and clinical data, these insights can help us choose the right assets, indications, patients, and trial designs—and ultimately increase the probability that important new medicines reach patients." 

Transforming drug discovery and development requires biological understanding at scale

For Formation Bio, the Atlas can provide insight into why a drug might work or fail in a specific patient population. Single-cell perturbation data at scale will enable researchers to build more precise models of how candidate drugs interact with disease biology, improving their ability to identify which patient subgroups are most likely to respond and inform clinical trial design. The Atlas will also strengthen one of the most consequential decisions in drug development: choosing which assets to advance and in which indications.

This is particularly important for first-in-class medicines, where the target biology may be compelling but clinical precedent is limited. By integrating cell-state-specific perturbation data with genetic, human, translational, and clinical evidence, Formation Bio can more rigorously credential target-indication pairs, identify the disease contexts and patient populations most likely to respond, and prioritize programs with the strongest probability of clinical success.

"The next frontier of AI in biology hinges on the creation of foundational training datasets," said Kyle Farh, vice president of Artificial Intelligence at Illumina. "Up until now, most single cell data has been observational. We aim to change that, and in the process, reimagine what is possible in biology." 

About the Illumina Billion Cell Atlas

The Illumina Billion Cell Atlas — the world's largest genome-wide genetic perturbation dataset — is capturing how one billion individual cells respond to genetic changes via CRISPR across more than 200 disease-relevant cell lines. The program launched in January 2026, and members include AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company, Formation Bio, Merck, and two additional AI-driven drug discovery partners. It will be the most comprehensive map of human disease biology upon completion. To learn more about the Illumina Billion Cell Atlas and other multiomics initiatives, visit this link.

About Illumina  

Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome. Our focus on innovation has established us as a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical, and applied markets. Our products are used for applications in the life sciences, oncology, reproductive health, agriculture, and other emerging segments. To learn more, visit illumina.com and connect with us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.  

Contacts

Investors:
Illumina Investor Relations
858-291-6421
[email protected]

Media:
Christine Douglass
[email protected]

SOURCE Illumina, Inc.

Key Takeaways ILMN is focused on core sequencing, multiomics, and software after the GRAIL spin-off.ILMN raised 2026 guidance as Q1 revenues, margins, EPS and NovaSeq X placements topped expectations.ILMN faces China weakness, tariffs and higher input costs that may pressure growth and margins. Illumina Inc. (ILMN - Free Report) is well-poised to grow in the coming quarters owing to its strategic execution against growing the core sequencing business, expanding multiomics and developing services, data and software capabilities. Ongoing momentum in clinical end markets is boosting sequencing consumables demand. Higher-than-expected NovaSeq X placements and continued transition to the platform further strengthen the outlook. Yet, China remains a drag on Illumina’s growth, while input-cost volatility can limit incremental margin upside over the next several quarters.

Over the past year, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has surged 87%, well ahead of the industry’s 23.8% growth and the S&P 500 composite’s rise of 22.8%.

The renowned biotechnology company has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion. ILMN’s earnings yield of 2.8% is well ahead of the industry’s -14.9% yield. In the trailing four quarters, it surpassed estimates on all occasions, delivering an average surprise of 12.2%. 

Let’s delve deeper.

Tailwinds Behind ILMN StockSharpened Focus on Core Genomics: Following the spin-off of GRAIL in June 2024, Illumina has continued to center its strategy on the core sequencing franchise while scaling into adjacent multiomics and data offerings. The company remains focused on returning to durable growth and higher profitability, aiming for high-single-digit revenue growth by 2027, along with double-digits to teens annual earnings per share (EPS) growth, anchored by its roadmap of growing the core sequencing business, expanding multiomics and building services, data and software capabilities.

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First-quarter 2026 results reinforced that direction, with revenues, margins and non-GAAP EPS exceeding guidance. Management also raised full-year 2026 guidance, now expecting revenues in the range of $4.52-$4.62 billion and non-GAAP diluted EPS in the range of $5.15-$5.30, alongside a modest step-up in the non-GAAP operating margin outlook between 23.4% and 23.6%.

NovaSeq X Placements and Transition Progress: Illumina’s core sequencing business remains anchored by NovaSeq X. First-quarter 2026 placements exceeded 80 units, around 20 more than the prior-year quarter and above the company’s targeted quarterly range. Demand remains strong for the platform, especially with clinical. Management noted supply constraints in meeting first-quarter placement demand while exiting the quarter with a backlog that supported a higher full-year instrument outlook.

Transition progress also continued, with approximately 82% of volumes and 55% of revenues transitioned to NovaSeq X in the first quarter, and roughly 90% of research and applied volume now on the platform. Management continues to plan for average quarterly NovaSeq X placements of 50 to 60 through 2026 while investing to scale supply given the current pipeline.

Clinical Demand Remains the Key Driver: Illumina continues to benefit from the broader adoption of NGS-based testing, with clinical markets now representing the majority of sequencing consumables revenues in first-quarter 2026. Management cited continued adoption of sequencing-based diagnostics and growing use of sequencing-intensive tests, including comprehensive genomic profiling and whole genome sequencing, as drivers of higher sequencing intensity.

Clinical sequencing consumables demand grew 20%, excluding China, for the second consecutive quarter, and management continues to expect most clinical volumes to transition to NovaSeq X by the end of 2026. Over time, the mix shift toward higher-throughput clinical workflows should remain supportive for consumables growth even as research demand stays uneven.

What Ails ILMN?Setbacks in China Market: Illumina continues to face constrained demand in Greater China amid ongoing regulatory and geopolitical uncertainty, keeping the region out of step with the rest of the business. In first-quarter 2026, Greater China revenues were $52 million, down 27.8% year over year. With Illumina still operating under uncertainty tied to its status with Chinese authorities and the resulting friction on commercial activity, visibility on a sustained recovery in China remains limited and can weigh on overall growth and operating leverage.

Macroeconomic Pressures Remain a Concern: Illumina continues to operate in a higher-cost environment shaped by tariffs and supply-chain inflation, which can affect both demand and margins. In the first quarter of 2026, tariffs were a partial offset to underlying cost efficiencies and revenue leverage.

Second-quarter guidance calls for an operating margin of around 22%, reflecting a higher instrument mix, near-term inflationary impacts tied to freight and higher electronic component costs, and incremental costs from a full quarter of SomaLogic. Management expects mitigation actions to offset these cost items over the balance of the year, but ongoing volatility in trade policy and input costs can still create uneven quarterly performance and limit visibility for customers facing tighter budgets.

ILMN Stock Estimate TrendThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for ILMN’s 2026 EPS has increased 0.4% to $5.19 in the past 30 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2026 revenues is pegged at $4.56 billion. This suggests a 5.1% rise from the year-ago reported number.

Key PicksSome better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Globus Medical (GMED - Free Report) , Align Technology (ALGN - Free Report) and Integra LifeSciences (IART - Free Report) .

Globus Medical has an earnings yield of 6.2% compared to the industry’s negative 3% yield. Its earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 26.3%. GMED shares have rallied 35.4% against the industry’s 10.6% decline over the past year.

GMED carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Align Technology, sporting a Zacks Rank #1, has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 10.3% compared with the industry’s 5.5% growth. Shares of the company have dipped 6.3% against the industry’s 9.6% growth. ALGN’s earnings outpaced estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 7.8%.

Integra LifeSciences, carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has an earnings yield of 13.7% against the industry’s negative 3% yield. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 16.7%. IART shares have rallied 33.8% against the industry’s 10.5% decline over the past year.